Just this month, greenhand skills, senior skills, Spanish creed, senior chapter conducting, public relations and more all received LDE sweepstakes. This is the very first time FFA has achieved this milestone, while having eight teams advance to the area.
Future Farmers of America (FFA) is a club that lets students participate in leadership, career, and speaking development events.
“The friendships I’ve built and the experiences I’ve had through FFA have been incredibly meaningful, and they’ve shaped me both personally and professionally,” senior Rachel Mapes said.
Although FFA helps you learn more about agriculture and the history of the club, there is a deeper, more meaningful reason people join. According to the National FFA website, the club teaches you about agriculture and history, but it’s also about creating a community and building strong connections and leaders.
“My favorite part about being in FFA is the community of people and how it has made me into a better version of myself,” junior Taylor Anderson said.
FFA advisor, Magen Escamilla, explains the different things you can learn through being a part of FFA. They include mechanics, natural resources, vet sciences, and floral design/plant science.
“Over the past three years, FFA has given me hands-on experience and a deeper understanding of the industry, which has helped me focus on what I want to pursue as a career,” Mapes said.
As mentioned in the National FFA website, the organization helps the members prepare for their future careers. The club not only prepares students for being a farmer, but also includes future careers that go as broad as being a teacher to a scientist.
“[FFA] would help you know what you want to do, and after high school I’m going to trade school to learn to become an electrician,” freshman Kolton Kirk said.
The different teams offered in FFA include creed speaking, agriculture skills, quiz team, radio broadcasting, public relations, and more.
“I joined the senior chapter conducting team at the beginning of my sophomore year when another student proposed creating the team,” Mapes said. “I saw it as a great opportunity to get more involved with our FFA chapter and develop my leadership skills.”
Another team offered in the chapter is the vet science team. Escamilla explains that the vet science team has advanced to state eight times since she has worked at the school, and within those eight state qualifications, five of them have finished in the top 10. Just this past school year, the vet science team finished third in the nation and had the top individual score of the whole vet science national contest.
“Our vet team was the Area 12 championship team and advanced to the state contest held the first weekend of May at the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine,” Escamilla said. “Our team won the state championship for vet science and secured their national qualifying spot.”
Throughout the year, you can raise livestock and take care of them by visiting the barn morning and night. The animals you can breed comprise market steers, goats, pigs, lambs, rabbits, and poultry.
“This year, I currently have one fine-wool cross lamb named Sully and one Hampshire pig named Mike,” Anderson said. “Throughout my time in FFA, I have become a better leader, more outgoing, gained confidence, and overall have become a more responsible person.”